Cleaning fluid dispenser for eye lenses



Jim 1968 L. J. R. LACROIX 3,3 3

CLEANING FLUID DISPENSER FOR EYE LENSES Filed Nov. 23, 1966 2 Sheets-Shem 1 11mm hwft as y Jan. 9, 1968 J R LACROIX 3,

CLEANING FLUID DISPENSER FOR EYE LENSES Filed Nov. 23, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 [e'an [AC/RUDY United States Patent 3,362,443 CLEANING FLUID DISPENSER FOR EYE LENSES Lon J. R. Lacroix, P.0. Box 638, St. Raymond, Quebec, Canada Filed Nov. 23, 1966, Ser. No. 596,481 9 Claims. (Cl. 141-352) The present invention relates to a dispenser for cleaning liquid and more particularly to a cleaning fluid dispenser for eye lenses.

Eye lenses are known to be cleaned by using the steam from the mouth or from a small container of boiling water. Cleaning fluids have also been used by being sprayed over the surfaces of the lenses by pressure cans or other mechanical means.

It is an object of the present inventlon to dispense a drop of cleaning liquid on the surface of an eye lens so that the said drop may be used to clean the surface of the lens.

It is another object to automatically dispense a drop of fluid on at least one surface of an eye lens upon the introduction of the lens between the jaws of a dispenser.

It is a further object of the invention to dispense one drop of liquid on the surface of the lens upon contact of the jaws of a dispenser on a lens.

It is still a further object of the invention to have a dispenser which may be mounted on a wall or fixed on a table wherein the. said dispenser does not have to be touched and only by the introduction of the eye lens in the dispenser, a drop of cleaning fluid is deposited on the surfaces of the lens.

The dispenser for eye lens cleaning fluid, according to the invention, comprises a jair of jaws adapted to come in contact with both surfaces of an eye lens, resilient means for biasing the jaws in an opened position, pres ence sensor means for closing the jaws on the eye lens when the said eye lens is introduced between the said jaws, liquid conduit means within said jaws for depositing a small quantity of liquid on the surfaces of the lens.

The invention will now be described in greater detail with the help of a non-limitative example illustrated in the following drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the dispenser according to the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a vertical sectional view of the dispenser illustrated in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a detailed view of the lower end of the dispenser shown in FIGURE 2 wherein the jaws are in an opened position;

FIGURE 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 1VIV in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VV in FIGURE 2.

The cleaning fluid dispenser shown in FIGURES 1 and 2 comprises a pair of jaws 2 pivotally mounted at 4 on a pair of supporting plates 6. A reservoir 8 for receiving a liquid container 10 is mounted above the supporting plates 6. The lower part of the liquid container has a closure 12 made of resilient material such as rubber which is adapted to be punctured by a needle 14 for providing the liquidto the jaws 2. A cover 16 is usually provided to close the reservoir 8.

The jaws 2 mounted on pivots 4 are substantially made of a C-shaped member the two ends of'the C-shaped member being adapted to face each other as shown in particular in FIGURE 2. A liquid conduit 18 passes through each jaw, one end of the said conduit leads to a nipple 20, the other end leading to connecting tubes 22 which receive the liquid from the needle 14. These tubes 22 are made of flexible material to facilitate the pivoting movement of the jaws 2. The rear ends of the jaws 2 are interconnected by connecting plates 24 having pins 26 sliding in slots 28 provided in the rear ends of the jaws 2. A rod 30 slidably mounted in a wall 32, fixed between the supporting plates 6, is biased in a forward direction by a coil spring 34 so that a face plate 36 pushes on the connecting plate 24 to spread the distributing ends of the jaws carrying the nipples 20. The biasing movement of the rod 30 is illustrated in FIGURE 3.

A pressure plate 38 is mounted inside the C-shaped members and solidly fixed to the connecting plates 24. The pressure plate 38 lies against the projections 41 extending forwardly at the rear end of the jaws and is adapted to spread the distributing ends of the jaws when the pressure plate 38 is pushed against the said projections. The pressure plate 38 constitutes a pressure sensor device. It is obvious that any presence sensor device such as photoelectric sensor means could be adapted to close the jaws over the surface of the lens.

The distributing ends of the jaws 2 are mounted with a nipple 20 which has a cavity 40 and an aperture 42. It should be obvious that the said nipple could be constituted by foam rubber Surrounded by an apertured seal or that the cavity 40 could be filled with an absorbent material such as foam rubber.

In a position of rest of the cleaning fluid dispenser the jaws 2 will be in an opened position such as illustrated in FIGURE 1 because the spring 34 actuates the rod 30 to push the rear ends of the jaws forwardly. When an eye lens 44 is introduced between the jaws, one edge of the said eye lens being applied against the pressure plate 38, in the direction of the arrows A (FIGURE 2), the nipples 20 close over the surfaces of the eye lens 44 with a slight pressure and permit the evacuation of a drop 46 of cleaning fluid over each surface. Each drop 46 of liquid is held on the surfaces by superficial tensionwhen the nippl-es 20 move away from the lens in the direction of the arrows B, that is, when the eye lens is moved away from the pressure plate in the direction of the arrows C.

The liquid movement will be computed so as to let one drop of liquor fall on the eye lens surfaces upon contact with a slight pressure of the nipples. Accordingly the diameter of the needle 14 and the aperture 42 of the nipples will prevent the liquid from falling by mere gravity but upon pressure on the nipples 20 one drop of liquid will be left on the eye lens surface.

It is obvious that the tension of the spring 34 will be light so as not to require too great pressure of the eye lens on the pressure plate 38. Furthermore, it should be obvious that the jaws may be aligned in a horizontal plane or in any angular plane although the vertical plane is preferred.

It is further obvious that the liquid in the container 10 supports the atmospheric pressure. Consequently an aperture may be needed in the cover 16 and in the container 10 if they are air-tight.

It should also be assumed that the two jaws 2 may be connected by completely independent tubes to the container 10.

Various changes may be brought to the embodiment exemplified above without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

1. A cleaning liquid dispenser for an eye lens comprising:

a pair of jaws adapted to come in contact with both surfaces of said eye lens;

resilient means for biasing the jaws in an opened position;

presence sensor means for closing the jaws on the eye lens when the said lens is introduced between the said jaws;

liquid conduit means within said jaWs for depositing a small quantity of liquid on the surfaces of the lens,

2. A dispenser as recited in claim 1, comprising a cleaning fluid reservoir located above the conduit means to provide the liquid by gravity to the said conduit means.

3. A dispenser as recited in claim 2, wherein the liquid distributing nipple made of resilient material is mounted at the end of each jaw to receive the liquid from the conduit means.

4-. A dispenser as recited in claim 3, wherein the nipple is hollow and has a small aperture at its tip.

5. A dispenser as recited in claim 1, wherein the jaws consist of pivotally mounted substantially C-shaped members, one end of said members being actuated by the said resilient means.

6. A dispenser as recited in claim 1, wherein the resilient means consist of a coil spring and a rod axially located between the said jaws, the said rod projecting onto one end of said C-shaped members to keep the jaws in an open position.

7. A dispenser as recited in claim 5, wherein the presence sensor means comprise a pressure plate mounted at one end of said members, whereby pressure of the lens on said pressure plate causes the jaws to close on the surface of the said lens.

8. A cleaning fluid dispenser for an eye lens comprising:

a support for said dispenser;

a liquid reservoir located above said support;

a pair of C-shaped jaws pivotally mounted on the support so that the ends of both jaws may oppose each other;

liquid conduit means in said jaws for bringing the liquid from the reservoir to the dispensing end of the jaws, the said dispensing end having an apertured resilient nipple adapted to deposit a drop of liquid upon pressure contact on the eye lens;

spring actuated means exerting pressure on the other end of the jaws for biasing the jaws in an opened position;

pressure sensor means mounted on the said other end of the jaws for closing the jaws when the eye lens presses on the said sensor means;

whereby a drop of liquid is deposited on each surface of the eye lens when the jaws are closed and the nipples contact the lens.

9. A cleaning dispenser for an eye lens comprising:

a pair of jaws movable relative to one another from open to close positions;

means biasing said jaws to open position;

means responsive to pressure applied by a lens when between said jaws to draw said jaws toward the close position and over said lens; and

liquid dispensing means at the tips of said jaws to discharge cleaning liquid on said lens when said tips close over said lens.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,048,878 8/1962 Gray et al. 2222l5 X 3,158,227 11/1964 Williamson 14l346 X ROBERT B. REEVES, Primary Examiner.

N. L. STACK, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A CLEANING LIQUID DISPENSER FOR AN EYE LENS COMPRISING: A PAIR OF JAWS ADAPTED TO COME IN CONTACT WITH BOTH SURFACES OF SAID EYE LENS; RESILIENT MEANS FOR BIASING THE JAWS IN AN OPENED POSITION; PRESENCE SENSOR MEANS FOR CLOSING THE JAWS ON THE EYE LENS WHEN THE SAID LENS IS INTRODUCED BETWEEN THE SAID JAWS; LIQUID CONDUIT MEANS WITHIN SAID JAWS FOR DEPOSITING A SMALL QUANTITY OF LIQUID ON THE SURFACES OF THE LENS. 